Archives for August 2020

Donald Duck and the Magic Pentagram!

The pentagram has long been associated with the Occult, however, could the magic of the pentagram lie in math? What! It does!?! I was reminded of this, when I recently watched Disney’s Donald in Mathmagic Land. This entertaining educational film is approximately 27 minutes long and is a fun watch.

During the film, Donald Duck travels to ancient Greece and learns about Pythagoras. Now Pythagoras discovers that the pentagram has a special number hidden inside called the Golden Ratio, which equals approximately 1.618. Pythagoras also works with other people, who enjoy discussing new ideas and thoughts such as the Golden Ratio, Pythagorean theorem and mathematical/experimental study of music. Thus, the Pythagoras’s secret society was born. In order to attend a secret Pythagorean society meeting, one needed a pentagram on the palm of their hand. Donald Duck obtains such a pentagram in order to join in on the society meeting. Next, the pentagram is shown to contain the pattern for constructing infinite amount of golden rectangles. The golden rectangle has influenced both ancient and modern cultures in many ways.

Donald in Mathmagic Land made me ponder if the origins of the pentagram are older than Ancient Greece. This led me down the rabbit hole to discover that the origins of the pentagram symbol, which can be traced to Mesopotamia and as far back as 3500 or 3000 BC. The Chaldees of Mesopotamia inscribed the symbol on their pottery and other artifacts. The Sumerian pentagrams were said to connote the word “UB,” meaning “corner” or “angle”. The Babylonians perhaps thought the five points of the shape referred to Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Venus.

Continuing down the rabbit hole, the Hebrews actually used the pentagram as a symbol of truth and to represent the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Druids referred to the pentagram as the Godhead and the early Christians believed the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Christ. Prior to the Inquisition, the pentagram had no evil associations and was viewed as a symbol of truth.

Not much is known about the pentagram between the years of 3500 or 3000 BC. I hope they discover more information during this time frame. It would be great to understand the symbolism of the pentagram during this time. If you have a chance you should watch Disney’s Donald in Mathmagic Land and see what you discover.

Cheeky Chakras

Have you ever felt like everything in your system is off and you can’t figure out what it is? I promise, it was not the late night pizza (keep reading, the Dad jokes keep getting better) (now pause for effect) it is your Blocked Chakras.

It sounds crazy, but, unblocking your chakras maybe what you have always needed. First, what are chakras? Chakra refers to the energy points in your body. They are thought to be spinning disks of energy that should stay open and aligned, since they can affect our emotional and physical well-being.

There are 7 main chakras, please see below:

Crown Chakra: Located on the top of the head. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise through the brain and nervous system as well as enlightenment being blocked.

Third Eye Chakra: Located between the eyes and in the brow area. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise through headaches, issues with sight or concentration, and hearing problems.

Throat Chakra: Located in the throat area. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise through teeth, gums, and mouth, and difficulties speaking your mind.

Heart Chakra: Located in the heart area. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise through heart problems, asthma, and weight issues.

Solar Plexus Chakra: Located in the upper abdomen/stomach area. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise such as digestive issues like ulcers, heartburn, eating disorders, and indigestion.

Sacral Chakra: Located below the belly button and above the pubic bone. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise such as urinary tract infections, lower back pain, and impotency.

Root Chakra: Located at the base of the spine. If this chakra is blocked, the following issues can arise such as arthritis, constipation, and bladder or colon problems, or emotionally through feeling insecure about finances.

Now on to balancing your chakras. Below are some common practices you can use to balance your chakras:

Energy Healing
Chakra Meditation
Yoga
Breath work
Chakra Tuning Forks
Chakra Healing Stones
Holistic Health
Sound Healing

It is worth giving one of the methods listed above a try and see how you feel afterwards. I always feel less stressed out afterwards.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

The Magic of Healing Crystals

In this day and age, people are trying alternative ways of healing, including me. I have been using crystals for healing and I feel like it works. Is this a placebo effect? I am not sure and there are no scientific studies on the efficacy of crystal healing. However, whether it is a placebo effect or not, the fact that I feel better is all that matters. So, if you’re curious, please try and make sure to keep an open mind.

Listed below different types of crystals, each filled with their own healing abilities for the mind, body, and soul. This list is certainly not exclusive, please do your own research as well if you do not find a stone below that will help you with your particular issues.

Are you looking for protection? Try the following crystals below:

Black Obsidian

This protective stone is said to help form a shield against physical and emotional negativity. It can also help get rid of emotional blockage and promote qualities of strength, clarity, and compassion. For your physical body, it may aid in digestion and detoxification. I wear this crystal quite often and feel a difference if I do not have it on.

Black Tourmaline

As a stone of protection, it is believed to project a physic shield to protect against physic attacks. It can help defend against the radiation given off by various electronic devices. It is also known to have transformative powers.

Are you looking to attract love in your life or heal from grief? Please try the following:

Rose Quartz

Used to restore trust and harmony in all kinds of relationships. It’s also claimed to help provide comfort and calm during times of grief. Rose quartz is said to also encourage love, respect, trust, and worth within one’s self.

Malachite

Dismantles hurtful memories. Also it works quickly to clear away painful heartache and make way for new love.

Green Aventurine

Need some luck in your life? Start carrying this stone and you will increase your confidence and your luck at attracting new love into your life. It’s also known as a stone of abundance.

Feeling like your life needs a new beginning? Please try the following:

Moonstone

The moonstone is known for new beginnings and helps with inner growth and strength. It is suppose to promote positive thinking, intuition, and inspiration as well.

Smoky Citrine

Need to start something new? Then Smoky Citrine is for you. This crystal is all about starting new projects or stimulating growth experiences because of its connection to your personal will power. It also connects to your energy field to bring you into alignment.

Rutilated Quartz

The meaning of Rutilated Quartz is harmony. It can help clear out any mental fogs. Also, this crystal can help with shifting perspectives as well as being focused, alert and self-confident.

Above are just some of the crystals that may help you on a day to day bases. There are tons of different types of crystals which are used for different reasons. Please continue exploring the healing benefits of crystals online.

Below are some helpful websites:

Photos by Alina Vilchenko from Pexels

Discover the Red Pill: Numerology

Do you feel like you are stuck in The Matrix with Keanu Reeves? Are you looking for the red pill in your life and just don’t know where to turn? Then numerology is for you! Oh wait….. maybe numerology will not help you escape the digital simulation. However, you can uncover information about the world and yourself by using numerology.

Numerology is seen as a universal language of numbers. In simple terms, numerology is a study of numbers in your life. Numerology is the idea that the universe is a system and once broken down we are left with the basic elements, which is numbers. These numbers can then be used to help us to better understand the world and ourselves as individuals.

Below is a fun Name and Birthdate Numerology Calculator. Once you have filled out the form and click on Calculate Core Numbers, you will see all the numbers associated with your name and birth date. You will be able to click on the numbers, which will take you to the definition of each number. If you are looking for a definition of what is a Destiny Number, Life Path Number, Birth Date, Heart Desire Number and Personality Number, please scroll down after your information has been calculated.

I had fun reading about the numbers and surprised on they matched up to my personality and the things I look for in life.

Photo by InstaWalli from Pexels

Seattle’s Forgotten Garden

Kubota Garden is a free 20-acre Japanese-style garden dating to 1927, with flowers, ponds, waterfalls & a moon bridge. This is a great way to spend time in Seattle and see some unforgettable scenery. The easiest way to access the garden is by car. The Kubota Garden is currently open from 6am to 9:30pm. However, it is always good to check the website as this is subject to change. Also, they ask at this time to wear face masks and keep 6 feet apart from other individuals. The best time to visit the garden is during the weekdays as the weekends become very busy. I think the best time of the year is in the Spring. However, it is beautiful anytime of the year. Below are photos taken in August.

To understand how this park came to be, in 1927, Fujitaro Kubota bought five acres in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle and began his garden. He emigrant from the Japanese Island of Shikoku in 1907 and established the Kubota Gardening Company in 1923. Fujitaro was a self-taught gardener, who wanted to display the beauty of the Northwest in a Japanese manner and he was soon designing and installing gardens throughout the Seattle area.

As Fujitaro’s landscaping business prospered, his Rainier Beach garden grew to include twenty acres. This was the family home, the business office, the design and display center. It was also a nursery to grow plant materials for the gardens installed by the Kubota Gardening company. In 1972, the Japanese Government awarded Fujitaro Kubota with a rare honor, the Fifth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure, “for his achievements in his adopted country, for introducing and building respect for Japanese Gardening in this area.” In 1973, Fujitaro died at the age of 94. He always hoped that the garden would one day be open to the public. This happened in 1981, when 4.5-acre core area of the garden was listed as a Historical Landmark of the city of Seattle. In 1987, the City of Seattle acquired the garden from the Kubota family and purchased approximately twenty-eight acres of land adjacent to and around the garden to remain as a natural area.

Cryotherapy: 5 ways it can help you

Cryotherapy is basically freezing your body in order to stimulate your skin, increase your blood circulation, reduce joint pain, provide mental stimulation and reduce muscle pain.

There are several different types of cryotherapy such as facial, localized and booth. I have had several sessions of cryotherapy in a booth and I always feel like I am 16 again (for at least an hour) after the session is complete. I have also tried the cryotherapy facial, which is used to reduce wrinkles, fine lines and improve skin tone. The cryotherapy facial was nice, but I did not notice a dramatic difference in my skin’s appearance. However, in the cryotherapy facial’s defense, I only had one session.

I have read on the internet that people can have difficultly with cryotherapy. If you have high blood pressure and/or heart conditions please check with your doctor, before trying a treatment. Children and pregnant women should not utilize cryotherapy.

However, with that being said, please see the 5 ways cryotherapy can help you below:

Pain relief and muscle healing: The cryotherapy booth and localized cryotherapy are popular ways to help with muscle pain, as well as some joint and muscle disorders, such as arthritis. It may also promote faster healing of athletic injuries. Soccer star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has turned to a cryotherapy chamber in order to aid his recovery and to provoke a process of muscle regeneration and immune-system stimulation.
Reduced inflammation: Cryotherapy is great for reducing inflammation, this can improve your overall health and reduce the risk of numerous chronic ailments.
Preventing dementia: A 2012 paper puts forward the possibility of cryotherapy being able to reduce the inflammation and oxidative stress associated with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and other age-related forms of cognitive decline.
Reducing anxiety and depression: A small 2008 study found that in a third of people with depression or anxiety, cryotherapy reduced symptoms by at least 50 percent. This was a much greater reduction than in people who did not undergo cryotherapy.
Improving symptoms of eczema: In 2008, there was a small study of people with eczema, which had participants stop using eczema medications. They then tried cryotherapy. Many of them saw improvements in their eczema symptoms, though some complained of frostbite on small areas of the skin.

If you have a chance, look for a deal online and try a cryotherapy session. It is a fun adventure and worth trying once.

Photo by Kevin Blanzy from Pexels

HAS ASTROLOGY BEEN PROVEN SCIENTIFICALLY?

A member of the Royal Astronomical Society, Dr. Percy Seymour, has reopened the debate with a provocative book, The Scientific Proof of Astrology, claims that the movements of the sun, stars and planets can influence the brains of unborn children in measurable ways. He believes human brain development may be affected by the Earth’s magnetic field, especially during growth in the womb. He also suggests that the Earth’s magnetic field is affected by interactions with those of the sun, moon and other planets because their magnetic fields affect solar magnetism.

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Granted, this is not a popular theory amongst scientist. Some of it’s biggest critics are Sir Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, and Professor Stephen Hawking. Rees has described astrology as “absurd“, adding: “There is no place for astrology in our scientific view of the world; moreover its predictive claims cannot stand any critical scrutiny.“

However, some scientist have not dismissed his idea completely and believe there are valid questions to be asked. One scientist in particular is Dr. Mike Hapgood, an expert in what astronomers at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire stated, “We have no real data on how, if at all, magnetic fields might affect human behavior.” “There’s an interesting question there and it’s not something that is well understood.”

A pioneer in this study that is often overlooked, although his math can’t be disproven, is French psychologist and statistician, Michel Gauquelin. His tests focused on the correlation between the positions of the planets at an individual’s birth, his or her psychological nature and how this manifested in measurable ways such as choice of profession or independent biographical descriptions. One of the attempts to account for Gauquelin’s apparently statistical results, sceptics claimed that a century ago parents falsified the birth registration times to optimize their offspring’s charts. Therefore, since there was a conventional explanation (artifact) that could never be ruled and therefore his work was no more than an astrological theory.

Professor Suitbert Ertel and Kenneth Irving (Urania Trust) wrote the Tenacious Mars Effect’ (1996). The book discusses in detail Gauquelin’s research and details the dubious methods by sceptic committees in Belgium, the USA and France to disprove the results. The CSICOP for instance, willfully concealed positive evidence supporting Gauquelin’s work.

The good news is Gauquelin’s work has been revisited. Finnish mathematician Kyosti Tarvainen, PhD, credits Dutch statistician Jan Ruis with developing the computer methods that have helped him validate astrology with the Gauquelin’s data in 10 successful peer-reviewed studies. At the time that Gauquelin published his study, he did not have access to powerful new computer technologies. The computer technology has been producing extraordinary results for ordinary astrology using the original birth data the Gauquelin and his spouse used in their many research projects.

I found researching this subject fascinating and I hope research into Astrology continues. I find all of the information that has come out to be very interesting. I feel as technology continues to improve, more aspects of Astrology can be tested. I am going to look more into my own Astrological chart and try to understand how it all works. I will update you as soon as I start to figure it out.

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger from Pexels

Retail Therapy: Can it be good for you?

I love to shop, of course in moderation, however, doing research on this gave me so much satisfaction as well as the small Gnome called “Winkey” that I could not live with out on Amazon, I digress. To begin with, I discovered that it is proven that shopping can lift your spirits. Simply resisting the urge to buy something or finding something totally unexpected can give you a spirit high.

A study, conducted by TNS Global on behalf of Ebates.com, has found that more than half of Americans admit to engaging in “retail therapy.”

According to Psychology Today by Kit Yarrow Ph.D., there are five therapeutic benefits of shopping:

Easing Transitions: If you are having a major transition in your life, shopping may give you a little boost.
Dressing for Success: Looking the part is essential, especially when you are applying for a new job. A new item to wear for the job interview will help your confidence.
The Pleasure Boost of Creativity and Aesthetics: Being creative with your style is a total mood booster, like revamping your hot 80’s leg warmers with the gold neckless you just bought.
Relaxation and Escape: Going on a shopping hunt can relax your inner soul in ways that can’t be explained. This is done by searching and yearning for that unexpected joy of finding the object you did not know you wanted.
Social Connection: Bonding with friends over the experience of hunting for that special deal.

Disclaimer: Of course reasonable retail therapy only works in moderation. Retail therapy typically involves desired purchases. If you consistently use shopping to cope with distress, please consult a psychologist.

Simple Feng Shui Tips

I have always been fascinated with Feng Shui. I just felt it was so overwhelming to start, because of all the knowledge required. However, if you can incorporate it into your life even just slightly, it is a great way to use energy forces to harmonize your living space. Below are some simple, easy ways to incorporate positive flow of energy (qi) into your life.

Color: Utilizing colors are great for the public spaces in your home. If you want your rooms to feel a particular way, adding color is a simple way to accomplish this, please see different colors and feelings you would like to add to rooms of your home.

Yellow: Nourishing, Happiness, Wealth (Fire or Earth Element)
Red: Passion, Courage, Stimulator (Fire Element)
Green: Growth, Health, Vibrancy (Wood Element)
Orange: Social, Open, Optimistic (Fire Element)
White: Freshness, New Beginnings (Metal Element)
Blue: Tranquility, Peaceful, Confidence (Water Element)
Gray: Clear, Detached, Neutral (Metal Element)
Purple: Inspires Spirituality, Noble (Fire Element)
Pink: Gentle, Soothing, Loving (Fire Element)
Black: Mysterious, Infinite, Absorbing (Water Element)
Brown: Wellbeing, Balanced (Wood or Earth Element)

In order to obtain the maximum positive (qi) energy, where/how the type of items and furniture are placed and the balance of the elements are also important. However, in the spirit of keep it simple, please see the following ideas below:

Use the front door of your home at least once a week. It is through the front door that the house receives its Feng Shui nourishment of energy.
Don’t hang mirrors across from your front door. If any good energy comes in it will immediately be bounced back outside.
Eliminate clutter, this will help open up the good energy flow in your home.
Get plants. Viewing nature reduces stress and adding plants to your home will help with your wellbeing.
Remove the TV from the bedroom. Although it is very common to have a TV in the bedroom, it can be very harmful to your energy. The bedroom should always remain a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere. Often when we’re watching TV, we are bombarded with negative information, which is very counterproductive to keeping a peaceful atmosphere.

Archives for August 2020

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